by Trina Solet
"Small for one person?" Trevor said.
"You need to be planning for the future," Diego advised him. "Picture the guy you want stretched out on there then..."
"No," Trevor snapped. He could only picture one man and that was out of the question.
"I didn't say naked. Just to measure..."
"Measure what?"
Diego laughed. Damn, his laugh sounded good, so deep and good-natured. Why did everything about him have to be so sexy? Another second and Trevor wasn't sure what he might do, but it would end with that bed thoroughly measured, tested and messed up.
"I'm getting you out of my bedroom right now," Trevor decided because he was about to make a fool of himself. But maybe it was already too late. As he spoke, Trevor's voice was thick and his face felt hot. Then he was standing too close to Diego, trying to back him out of the room. That was the idea, but now neither of them was moving.
They were breathing in unison, and Trevor was mesmerized by the sight of Diego's mouth. Diego's arms went around him slowly, giving him plenty of time to step back, to escape, to say something. Trevor stepped forward, right into those arms. His face tilted, his mouth seeking Diego's.
Then Diego's lips slid over his, teasing him, making him whimper. When Diego's mouth covered his, Trevor's whole body shuddered with waves of pleasure. His hands traveled Diego's muscular back then stopped at his waist. After a pause his hands moved down tentatively, shyly, but then he turned bold and he was groping Diego's firm ass.
Suddenly, Diego gripped him hard, breaking their kiss. He was hugging Trevor with all his might until he was crushed against his hard body. For a while Diego just held him motionless while breathing hard. Then he moved so that his lips were right at Trevor's ear.
"You're not leaving. I can't tell you how relieved I am," Diego spoke into his hair, his breath hot on his earlobe.
"Me too," Trevor whispered into his shoulder. He just wanted to stay like this even if he could hardly breathe.
Loosening his hold on him, Diego finally let him go. He looked deep into Trevor's eyes, cupped his face, kissed him softly and said, "Good night."
Chapter 13
On the evening of the party, Trevor had serious doubts about how he looked in his suit, but he couldn't stand in front of the mirror dwelling on that. He had to get Zane ready and then pack a bag of his stuff. Though he had no idea what to expect from this party, Zane kept him from getting too nervous.
In no time, Diego and Jamie were at the door. They came in and Diego smiled at Trevor.
"Someone looks good," Diego said in that deep, enticing voice of his.
"Yeah, it's Zane's only buttoned shirt, but it does look good on him," Trevor said. "And I see Jamie looks handsome too."
Jamie looked down shyly then ran away to play with Zane. Jamie was wearing a more serious outfit too, and of course, Diego looked stunning. His black suit fit him perfectly, highlighting his broad shoulders and strong physique. Trevor wanted to compliment him, but he was afraid he might say something embarrassing.
He managed to mumble, "You look great." Then he got busy gathering Zane's stuff. He put the bag over his shoulder, but Diego stepped up and reached for it.
"I'll carry that. You take Zane," Diego told him.
It was just a helpful gesture, but with Diego standing so close and looking so good, Trevor felt his heart speed up.
He snapped out of it somehow. "OK. I'll get Zane."
"Zane is busy," Jamie said.
Zane was standing at the coffee table and hitting it with a plastic cup.
"Banging things on the coffee table is his favorite thing," Trevor said as he scooped him up. Now Zane wanted to chew on the cup. As Trevor took it away from him, he started a chorus of, "Nononononono."
"He likes saying nonononono," Jamie pointed out.
"Nonononono," Zane said again.
"Uh oh. It's starting. His rebellious phase," Diego said and tickled the little rebel under the chin. "Let's go and show you guys off to everyone."
Their drive to the party ended in a neighborhood of mansions then they took a turn through a wrought iron gate. There was a valet right inside who took Diego's keys and directed them to walk up the path toward the house. A number of people were also walking that way.
They saw that some people got to drive right up to the steps in front and their vehicles clogged that area. Those were the older people, who weren't as mobile. Trevor saw some of them going up a ramp in their wheelchairs and scooters. Even among the people strolling up the path to the house, their little group was among the youngest people there, especially Jamie and Zane.
The evening was warm with a mild breeze. Low on the horizon, the sun was casting long shadows that Jamie had to step on. Trevor had a look around. The house was cream colored, huge and impressive, but it was the decorations among the lawn shrubbery that had his attention. The grounds were dotted with statues – girls with flower baskets, girls with water pitchers, a boy with a dog, another one with two buckets. There were also statues of horses, deer, cherubs and two full sized angels on either side of a fountain.
"This place is good," Jamie decided.
Diego leaned in to whisper to Trevor. "Honestly, I'm kind of freaked out. I feel like they're all following me with their eyes."
"I'm plenty nervous already, but thanks for that," Trevor said. He was nervous about the party and meeting Mrs. Dundee.
Diego could see how spooked he was. "You'll do fine. I told you, all you have to do is look pretty." He then looked at Zane, who was busy staring all around. "And you can't make a bad impression when you have Zane with you."
At the door, there was a short line, and an efficient young woman was checking names against a guest list. She wore a simple, black cocktail dress and her hair in a neat bun. When their turn came, Diego gave their names, and Trevor got worried that they might be turned away. They didn't have proper invitations like the other guests.
The young woman didn't even bat an eye. She simply directed them inside with a smile. That's where an old lady in a body hugging, iridescent, sequined dress greeted them. She had a lot of red curls and Trevor knew she must be Mrs. Dundee.
"This is him. My good friend, Trevor Yeager," she said and opened her arms for a hug.
Handing Zane over to Diego, Trevor returned her hug, thanked her and wished her a happy birthday. Jamie said hi to her like he had known her forever. Diego did introductions, and Mrs. Dundee shook Zane's tiny hand.
"Happy birthday, Mrs. Dundee," Diego told her. "You run a tight ship. The lady checking invitations at the door didn't miss a beat when we showed up with no invitation in hand."
"That's my assistant, Moira. She's used to how I issue invitations left and right. You should hear her interrogate me about it. 'Mrs. Dundee, did you invite anyone to your party today? Now think hard, please.'"
"She sounds like quite a find," Diego said.
"Don't I know it," Mrs. Dundee agreed as she led them through the glittery foyer and toward a side corridor. "I have this room down here set up for the little ones." She pointed a few doors down. "They can join us for the cake and all that, but later on, they might need a place to conk out, especially once the guests get tipsy and frisky."
"It's not going to turn into an orgy, right?" Diego asked, lowering his voice so the kids couldn't hear.
"Hmm. You never know," Mrs. Dundee said with a flirty smile.
To Trevor that was an unsettling thought, but Diego and Mrs. Dundee were laughing it up. They seemed to have hit it off.
They all went to see the kids' room. At the door they stopped and just gaped at what they saw. There was a Christmas tree in one corner with a toy train going around it. It was fenced in though, probably so the kids couldn't mess around with it. Garlands were everywhere as were various nutcracker soldiers, Santas and snowmen. Everything in the room was either red, green or gold.
"It's Christmas in here," Trevor said, astonished.
"It's always Christmas in here," Mrs. Du
ndee said proudly and did a slow spin in the middle of the room. "This room is permanently decorated for Christmas."
Trevor and Diego couldn't believe their eyes, but the kids loved it. Two other kids were already there as well as two babysitters. The babysitters seemed extremely professional and handed out cards from their agency in case the parents wanted to check up on their references or something. Trevor noticed three cribs against the wall for the smaller kids and mats rolled up on the other side for older kids' naps.
After making sure that nothing dangerous was within reach, he set Zane down to let him explore the room a little. "He will now touch everything, and if it makes noise, he will fall in love with it," Trevor predicted.
From the way he poked at everything, Zane liked the Christmas room. He and Jamie shouldn't mind too much when it got late and they were brought here to take their naps.
Mrs. Dundee left the four of them there so they could talk to the babysitters while she went to greet other guests. The babysitters had a place for Zane's stuff. They also asked them to fill out a form for each child with their phone numbers, emergency contacts, allergy and medical information. Their professionalism was very reassuring.
"See, there's nothing to worry about," Diego said and smiled at him as they left, taking the kids with them for now. "The kids will be in good hands and meeting Mrs. Dundee was a breeze."
"That was painless only because you were here to take the pressure off me," Trevor told him. "And Jamie helped too."
Jamie smiled up at him, but mostly he was staring around wide eyed at all the sparkly and grand stuff he was seeing. Mrs. Dundee did not believe in being subtle. Every piece of art on the walls had an ornate, gold frame.
The light fixtures were the most gaudy and expensive variations of what they carried at the store. The fabrics were luxurious and never dull. The white marble on the floor had pink veins running through it.
Finally they arrived at the doorway of a ballroom which was decked out for the party and filling up with guests. There was a tuxedoed band setting up on a dais. Trevor spotted a keyboard, drums and guitar, so they weren't going to play classical. The décor was elaborate, purple gladiolus and peacock feathers everywhere. From what Trevor had seen of Mrs. Dundee, it suited her.
The place turned into a sea of mostly elderly people in fancy clothes. Many of them got a kick out of seeing Jamie and Zane there as well as a few of the other kids. One little boy in a tiny suit was a big hit until he started crying and was taken away.
"We need to get tiny suits for these boys," Diego told him.
"So they can grow out of them in a month," Trevor said.
"You're right about that. We'll hold off buying them suits until the wedding, I guess," Diego said.
"What wedding?" Trevor asked him.
Diego sighed and looked into the distance. "Oh, you know how it is. Guys are always getting married. They meet someone irresistible, someone they can't stay away from or live without, someone they can't let get away. The next thing you know, kids of the grooms need tiny suits."
"What?" Trevor said. He couldn't have heard him right.
"Oh, look. There's Lance," Diego said, and Trevor saw him waving at them.
"Where's Lance?" Jamie asked.
In one smooth move, Diego lifted Jamie high into the air then set him back down giggling.
"You guys are having a good time already. Looking good too," Lance said as he came over to them. Tall and lanky, he looked good in a suit.
After some chitchat, Lance asked, "Can I take Zane and Jamie to go visit Mr. and Mrs. Heinrichsen. You two can dance or something."
"Sure," Diego said and Trevor agreed as well.
Trevor handed Zane to Lance, but he was anxious about getting to dance with Diego. He hadn't counted on that. Dancing with Diego would set off a whirlwind of feelings.
The band was playing oldies, mostly slow, corny, romantic songs, and that meant they would be dancing close. A dance floor was just to the right of them and plenty of people were already taking advantage of it, but Trevor was scared to step one foot over there.
Once Lance and the kids were gone, Trevor stood stock still, petrified. Diego smiled at him and took his hand to lead him to the dance floor. If Diego hadn't said that crazy stuff about a wedding and some random guys with kids, Trevor wouldn't be such a mess right now. How was he supposed to dance when he could hardly put one foot in front of the other just to walk?
In the middle of the dance floor, Diego squeezed his hand as he stopped and turned to face him. Taking his other hand, Diego gazed steadily into his eyes. Diego's arm went around Trevor's back and he shivered. Being held by him like this felt too good.
Trevor mirrored his movements and put his arm around him. With Diego so close, Trevor couldn't breathe, but his body followed Diego's and they were dancing smoothly, swaying to the music.
"I don't know how I feel about 'Sea of Love' being the first song we ever danced to," Diego said as he drew Trevor even closer so he could speak in his ear.
"If you don't like the song, you don't have to memorize what it is," Trevor pointed out. His voice came out husky and breathless.
Diego took half a step back just as the song ended. "I have no choice. It's engraved right here forever." Diego pointed to his chest, his heart.
"You keep teasing me," Trevor said. He got them started dancing again and closed the distance between them so he wouldn't have to meet Diego's eyes. But his heart was beating so hard. Diego might be able to feel it as he pressed their chests together.
"I'm not teasing you. I just can't hide how I feel when I'm dancing with you and you look more beautiful than words can express and feel so right in my arms," Diego said in a deep, gravelly voice that shook Trevor to his core.
They danced for a while longer then they saw Lance and the kids watching them. Making their way to the edge of the dance floor, they went to join them. Trevor took Zane in his arms and gave him a kiss.
"I was wondering if you were ever going to bring them back," Diego told Lance.
"I was giving you a chance to do some dirty moves on the dance floor," Lance said while Diego shushed him. "These guys were a big hit. Mrs. H is seriously taken with Zane. She said she wanted to take him home with her, but Jamie wouldn't let her. He said, 'You can't. We need Zane. Me and dad and Trevor.'"
"I like how he put you last," Diego said to Trevor.
Lance went back to Mr. and Mrs. Heinrichsen, and Trevor and Diego took the kids to have some food. Trevor found that he was too anxious to eat much no matter how much Diego urged him. Zane wanted to have all the canapés, or at least smush them all. After a few cautious bites of the savory options, Jamie picked out a cake with a cherry on top and nibbled all around the cherry which still had the stem on it.
They went to dance some more and Jamie and Zane danced with them. Zane danced while standing on Diego's feet, but then he wanted to get down and play with Diego's shoelaces. Diego swung him up and put him on his shoulders. Of course Zane held on by grabbing his hair.
"What do you see from up there?" Diego asked him.
"Dadadada," Zane said while looking right at Trevor.
The highlight of the birthday celebration came when the huge cake was wheeled out decorated with a portrait of Mrs. Dundee surrounded by purple flowers. Speeches were made then there was a champagne fountain and a toast. When everyone raised their glasses and wished Mrs. Dundee a happy birthday, confetti and balloons dropped from the ceiling. Zane wanted to catch all the balloons and hug them. Diego took a picture of Jamie covered with confetti. Then the huge cake was cut.
"I can't believe we're eating the birthday girl's face," Diego said. "I think I have part of her nose here."
Soon after that, they took the kids to the Christmas room. It was past Zane's bedtime and close to Jamie's. Other kids were already sleeping in there. They settled Zane in a crib and Jamie on one of the mats in there so they could nap for a while. Trevor and Diego stayed with them until they were asleep.
When they were ready to go back to the party, they told the babysitters to text them if the kids woke up.
When they got back to the ballroom, Trevor noticed his boss standing alone with a champagne glass in one hand and a hors d'oeuvre in the other.
"I'm going to go talk to Mr. Dundee," Trevor said.
"I'll go and stuff my face some more," Diego said and headed over to the buffet tables.
Trevor spoke to his boss only briefly. What he got from the conversation was that Mr. Dundee was taking credit for his promotion to full time and for his invitation to the party. Trevor thanked him for both, and Mr. Dundee called him a valuable employee.
Seeing Mrs. Dundee nearby, Trevor decided to also thank the person who was actually responsible. "I wanted to thank you for inviting us and for giving me a full time job. It means a lot to me," Trevor said.
"You don't need to keep thanking me. Steve didn't have one bad thing to say about you. And I'm always trying to wrangle good-looking boys to come over here. You and that handsome hunk, Diego, are what this party needs. It's a sea of liver spots otherwise." She gestured all around. "And your little ones are such sweet little charmers. They are going to grow up to be heartbreakers for sure."
"They're great dancers too," Trevor said. "They were having a lot of fun here. And Diego and I are having a great time too." He hoped he wasn't blushing when he said Diego's name. He was the one who made this night incredible for Trevor.
"Look at you. If only all my employees were so handsome and sweet," she said then sighed at a gathering of middle-aged guys in suits. "I own a car dealership too. Don't let any of that bunch corner you. It would be a like a bunch of hyenas circling a beautiful gazelle."
Trevor was embarrassed by her compliments so he looked past those guys and spotted Diego, who gave him a confident, encouraging smile. "If they corner Diego, he'll have them signing their life savings over to a science camp for poor kids or something," Trevor predicted. He was pretty sure even those guys couldn't resist Diego's charm.